WIIT Mentoring

Women in IT has facilitated over 20 mentoring relationships since its inception and we would like to ensure that we improve on this each year. We encourage more leading women in IT to join our mentorship programme.

We have just launched the mentorship programme that is managed by the IITPSA. We are looking for women within the ICT industry to join us in becoming mentors. Please email us on info@womeninit.org.za if you would like to become a mentor. If you are interested in being paired with any of the mentors below, please also contact us via email.

I started my career in retail from Corporate Account Manager to Operations Manager, then moved onto Distribution where I was a Product Manager for various products and then Microsoft where I was the Distribution Account Manager and had people reporting to me. I am currently with SAP as the Partner Recruitment Manager

Experience I could offer to a mentee (personal skills, abilities, style, behavior sets):

My work experience, my work ethic, professionalism some tips do’s and don’ts in the IT/sales industry, basic principles to follow etc.

My Interests: Gym, cycling, health & beauty, gardening and reading

My views on mentoring and what I would like to put into, and gain from the relationship

I would like to coach and guide either a new person starting out in the industry or a person already established in the industry who needs a fresh look at things, maybe forge a working relationship and potential friendship. I would also like to learn from my mentee and maybe gain some valuable insights from them.

As Enterprise Marketing Lead for Microsoft South Africa, I am responsible for leading the ITDM audience plan for the sub. Making sure she is the expert in understanding CIO audience insights that will help us craft and roll out the relevant customer campaigns that will address business challenges and ultimately driving demand for our products and services. She needs to drive executive engagement to foster deep relationships through advocacy and velocity.

In this role, I work closely with the business group leads, partner and services team to showcase solutions that will appeal to customers and deliver exciting customer experiences through our new range of devices and services. In all of this she needs to collaborate with the Central Marketing Organisation and PR to bring these campaigns to life and to leverage Microsoft assets like the Microsoft Technology Centre to showcase the variety of partner solutions we have on offer per industry. Best practices so far has been the establishment of the CIO Council of SA that is a NPO with its own branding that was born from a need to build a CIO community and to align to their business challenges. Previously, I worked at the South African Post Office for ten years, responsible for the Corporate identity of the company.

Experience You could offer a mentee:

Offering 26 years of experiences in two very different corporates – one being 10 years with the Post Office and then 12 years with Microsoft – two companies that are worlds apart and the adjustment it took to find my feet in a multinational company. I have mentored many people at Microsoft from top performance to young people that just joined and trying to find their feet and navigate their way in a dynamic organisation like Microsoft.
My Interests: I love the outdoor, camping locally and travelling internationally.I have travelled a lot and that have opened my eyes on how different the world is and how each one of us has a place in this very diverse world. I love SA and making our wonderful country a better place. I enjoy spending time with friends and family

My views on mentoring and what I would like to put into, and gain from the relationship
Mentoring is very powerful as both parties can learn a lot from a dedicated and committed agreement between two parties on issues that we can work on to make a difference. We need to set goals to achieve and steps to achieve them and also agree on a timeline that works for both!!

Previous Mentoring Experience

At Microsoft we have numerous opportunities to develop ourselves and our careers and in this mentoring people and being mentored by senior people is part of our development plans. I have mentored over 20 people in my time at Microsoft and love every minute of it!!
Additional information (which might influence matching eg. Work travel patterns etc.

I stay in Pretoria and work in Johannesburg so can mentor people in PTA and JHB. I prefer meetings being set up way in advance as my diary is pretty full and sticking to our agreed time slots as moving them means me might have to skip that month. I would prefer meetings in the middle of the day – face to face or conference calls otherwise early morning or late afternoons if the person is in Pretoria.

I have spent the last 25 years working in the ICT industry. I started my career in the technical field as a systems engineer and worked through infrastructure management, applications programming, business analysis and architecture through to CIO for companies in the mining and manufacturing industries. I have operated as a user of technology and solutions (buy-side experience) and a supplier of technology solutions (sell-side experience). I have local South African experience, pan African experience and International experience.

In my current role as a partner at Heidrick & Struggles responsible for sub-saharan Africa for Global Technology Services, I remain a part of the industry whilst no longer being directly involved in the industry. I have experience as both an executive director and a non-executive director on the boards of both listed and non listed entities. I am involved in charitable organisations on a pro-bono basis.

Experience You could offer a mentee:

Knowledge of the CIO and technology functions, knowledge of operating at the executive level, knowledge of technology and strategy consulting. Knowledge of ICT, manufacturing and mining sectors in the operational, shared services (finance / supply chain / facilities / security), information technology and commercial environments. I have knowledge of working with public service at a national level with involvement in the criminal justice system through Business Against Crime.

I have a MSc in Computer Science from the University of Stellenbosch and a GDE in Mechanical Engineering from the University of the Witwatersrand (WITS). I recently completed a PDE in Education from WITS which will be conferred on her in June 2015.

My views on mentoring and what I would like to put into, and gain from the relationship
Mentoring is a two way relationship and both parties will benefit provided that both parties contribute. There are many different types of mentoring relationships that suit different purposes